The nomination was made in July, but Senate Republicans blocked confirmation to the post. The recess appointment is for one year.

The Dodd-Frank Act gave the CFPB direct supervisory authority over depository institutions with $10 billion or more in assets. With a Director, the CFPB can now supervise non-bank entities and promulgate new consumer protection rules. Over the summer, the CFPB inherited consumer protection regulations from the various federal financial agencies. Recently, the CFPB it published a request for comments on streamlining regulations it recently inherited from other Federal agencies. You can read more about that effort here.